Whew! At least we picked up the pace for the final installment of “Arpeggio of Blue Steel” (maybe; I can no longer tell if a series has truly ended any more), with “Ars Nova: Cadenza”. It’s musical history time. A ‘cadenza’ often refers to a portion of a concerto in which the orchestra stops playing, leaving the soloist to play alone in free time (without a strict, regular pulse) and can be written or improvised, depending on what the composer specifies. The final movie is like that, as so much ‘new stuff’ comes in, that we are left in its wake.

The good news is that this is a full and true movie. We have progressed beyond the cut and paste of “D.C.” and formed a real film, with all the twists and turns you have come to expect from a submarine chase film. The time has come to end this war. (more…)

We have before us another example in the current trend of ‘concluding’ a series with a movie or two. I mean, the same effort goes into a movie as a series, but I guess they feel they can control things better with a movie. I also have the lurking suspicion that they can trot out a ‘special engagement’ viewing party and charge far more at the cinema for this, with one of those ‘weekend’ showings….provided you live in or near a city that would do this. If you are in East Powdermilk, Wisconsin, you could be out of luck.

We are continuing the saga of “Arpeggio of Blue Steel”, with this offering called “Ars Nova DC”. Now, since we are dealing in musical terms, ‘Ars Nova D.C.’ might be confusing to those not so musically inclined. But if you know the terms, it explains the movie a bit better. ‘Ars Nova’ means ‘new art’, although we can take it to mean ‘new technique’ and it represents a break from the style of music that preceded it. ‘D.C.’ is ‘Da Capo’ meaning ‘from the beginning’. It is a notation to play a musical phrase from a certain point again, kind of like a repeat. This movie is all that and a bag of shrimp-flavored chips. (more…)

This show is presented as an OVA, but it comes off more as a one-shot, and a confusing one at that. “Big Order” (“Biggu Ōdā”) tells the story of Hoshimiya Eiji, but it is done in the most painful way possible as to make it nearly incomprehensible as to what is going on. He starts off talking about wishes and if you were given one wish, what would it be? He progresses through his normal, boring life in his normal, boring town, going to his normal, boring school and seeing the new transfer student (that’s her up there, Kurenai Rin). (more…)

More on Part Two of the movie “Suisei no Gargantia ~ Meguru Kōro, Haruka”. Now, as I previously pondered as to why they did not decide to make this a two-hour (or so) movie, I do not know. Personally, I felt it would have benefitted from such a move, but then you lose the cliff-hanger ending for Film A, which would drive you into seeing Film B to conclude the offering and make for a more complete understanding of what is going on, although, for the most part, you don’t know what is really going on.

It comes off as not much more than a travelogue, as we see the life of people on these giant city-fleets and how they deal with other people on their giant city-fleets, who come along with items for trade or barter, so you can purchase or swap for that which you don’t have or have never seen. Oh, the story. The real story. An item that was pulled up from the sea bed in the last film appears to be a massive memory storage unit and could potentially explain a great deal as to what is going on and could even have technology. A lost technology that could benefit us, but it could also destroy us! (more…)

One of my responsibilities as a reviewer is to note trends. One trend I have noticed is the ten-episode run of second seasons, and that bothers me to no end. Another is the Movie Conclusion. I first saw it with “Eden of the East”, but a few more are cropping up. It appears a decision has been made by the Parent Company that rather than hoisting another season of a show (even if it is 10 episodes), let’s use a movie or two to close it out or explain things better. Thus is the case with “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet” (“Suisei no Garugantia”).

The initial series told the story of Ensign Ledo (right), a soldier in the Galactic Alliance, piloting a Machine Caliber. This is an AI-automated, humanoid-shaped battle suit, which he refers to as ‘Chamber’. After a failed attempt by the Alliance forces to destroy an enemy super-weapon, Ledo is knocked into a wormhole and loses consciousness. When he awakens, he learns from Chamber that he has been in hibernation for six months while his wounds were healing. Ledo also discovers that he and Chamber have been ‘found’ by a rag-tag band of human scavengers. (more…)

Sometimes you encounter a show that could go in either direction. Do you remember the song “Every Breath You Take”? Many people thought it was a romantic tale of a person deeply in love with another, but if you listened to the lyrics, I mean REALLY listened to them, it was about an obsessive stalker and then the song got creepy and dangerous. “Momokuri” is that kind of show.

The tales revolves around Yuki Kurihara, a girl who has finally been granted her wish of dating her crush, Shinya Momotsuki, whom she calls ‘Momo’. At first glance, she just looks like a normal but very cute girl, amid the first blush of being in love. However, she is in fact a maniac over Momo, taking notes of his activities and never missing the chance to see him in a cute moment. Momo, on the other hand, is inexperienced in love, and just wants to make Yuki happy, but does not fully understand what lies before him. (more…)

One of the problems with short-pull series is that they can be really short. I’ve seen them as short as TWO MINUTES! That’s hardly enough time for nothing! Basically, opening credits, set-up, joke, punchline, closing credits. And this series, “Ooya-san wa Shishunki!” (“Ōya-san wa Shishunki!” “The Landlord is in Puberty!”) runs those two minutes, in that order.

At its heart is a simple story idea: A young man, Maeda (left), moves into a new apartment, only to find that his new landlady, Chie Satonaka (middle), is a middle schooler. His friend, Reiko Shirai (right), comes by to visit to see how he is doing. Now, this started out life as a 4-koma and it is apparent here. And since it is brought to you by the same folks who did “Komori-san wa Kotewarenai” (and they make an appearance in one episode), you have the same kinds of soft situations. There is nothing heavy or overwhelming about any of the problems that arise. It is what I call a ‘sitcom situation’: a minor concern gets blown out of proportion, there is a lot of yelling and screaming and jumping up and down and running around in circles and then, we ‘find’ the solution and things are back to normal again. Until the next time this happens. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (more…)

This was an unpredictable offering, in that it was a mere episode of 30 minutes, but gave the impression of potentially being a pilot show for a possibly fuller series (could this be that ‘Episode #0’ of which we have heard so much about?) “Noblesse” (which is derived from the term ‘Noblesse Oblige’ and denotes the concept that nobility extends beyond mere entitlements and requires the person who holds such status to fulfill social responsibilities, particularly in leadership roles to those less privileged) is, among other things, a vampire show. It actually is a webtoon, but it certainly offered up something more than mere neck-biting.

Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (a.k.a. Rai, those are numerous images of him to the left) is a vampire hunter protector. His job is to make certain that the vampire hunters can do their job without getting dispatched by their foes. However, he has been asleep for 820 years (Wait! He went away in 1196? Long before Vlad the Impaler made the scene? The big event of that year was that the North Dutch coast flooded) and those forces that wish him harm have been looking for him ever since. His coffin was magically found and he was awakened into a world that he has a hard time grasping. Really? When he went to bed, the Byzantine Empire was still around and the Third Crusade was an active memory. Now we have cell phones and the internet. And Donald Trump. I have a hard time grasping this world and I’ve been here for a while! (more…)

This is a weird fish of a show, as I am not really certain how to present it. “Venus Versus Virus” (“Vīnasu Vāsasu Vaiarasu”) has their tales revolve around the lives of two young girls: Sumire Takahana (left) and Lucia Nahashi (right). Now, Lucia is a virus hunter. No, not like Jonas Salk. These viruses infect people and turn them into monsters, who then make more monsters. Lucia’s job is to dispatch these viruses. However, she discovered that Sumire has a secret, a secret that can help the Virus Vanguard get the upper hand in these confrontations and send these monsters packing to Monster Island or wherever they come from.

Lucia uses a gun that fires a vaccine that can kill the virus. However, when she shoots Sumire (that’s right; she has to put a slug in her), the vaccine causes Sumire to go into Berserker Mode and she can destroy a virus with her bare hands. However, friend or foe, if you are in her way, that could be the end of you. The series is the relationship between these two completely divergent people and how Sumire learns to control her darker side. (more…)

Sometimes, the best crime dramas are the ones that don’t apparently start off as one. This is both good and bad, but I would prefer to get lulled into something than know right from the outset where we were heading. Ooops, perhaps I’ve said too much. Well, that shouldn’t detract from your enjoyment of “Subete ga F ni Naru” (”Everything Becomes F” and subtitled “The Perfect Insider”). Don’t worry; the title will be made clear as it is also a major clue in the works.

Sōhei Saikawa, an associate professor of architectural engineering (right), and Moe Nishinosono (left), the daughter of his mentor, travel to the very remote Himaka Island to speak with Dr. Shiki Magata. Although the doctor is highly intelligent, she has secluded herself there, amid accusations that, years ago, she murdered her parents. While there, these two work together to solve a pair of murders on the island. (more…)